1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable terminals, such as cellular phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), and HHPs (hand held phones), and more particularly to a sliding module for a portable terminal having at least one sub-housing, which can slide along a main housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, “portable terminal” refers to an apparatus which a user can carry to perform wireless communication with a desired partner. In consideration of portability, designs of such portable terminals have tended to be not only compact, slim, and light, but also to provide multimedia availability, having a wider variety of functions. Additionally, such portable terminals are now commonly used, and are recognized by some people as a nearly indispensible necessity which must be always carried.
Conventional portable terminals may be classified into various types according to their appearance, such as bar-type portable terminals, flip-type portable terminals, and folder-type portable terminals. The bar-type portable terminal has a single housing shaped like a bar. The flip-type portable terminal has a flip which is pivotably mounted to a bar-shaped housing by a hinge device. The folder-type portable terminal has a folder coupled to a single bar-shaped housing by a hinge device in such a manner that the folder can be rotated in order to be folded to or unfolded from the housing.
Further, portable terminals may be classified into neck wearable type terminals and wrist wearable type terminals according to the position at or the way in which a user puts on the portable terminal. Additionally, portable terminals may be classified into rotation-type terminals and sliding-type terminals according to the manner of opening and closing the portable terminal. These variously classified portable communication apparatuses can be easily understood by those skilled in the art.
Meanwhile, conventional portable terminals are now able to transmit data at a high speed in addition to the basic function of performing voice communication. In other words, according to the increase in demand by consumers, portable terminals are now able to provide services using a wireless communication technology capable of transmitting data at a high speed.
In spite of the diversification of conventional portable terminals, they cannot sufficiently satisfy consumers' diversified tastes. The functions of portable terminals have been widely expanded and the types of services are diversified. Under such circumstances, since the input means of conventional portable terminals is limited, it is inconvenient to manipulate the keys to transmit an e-mail, chat or play a game, which requires a number of data inputs.